Invalid&#39;s chair.



Patented Fonzo, 1917.

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D. G. HADLEY.

INVALIDS CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED M1111. 5. 1915.

11116111611 Feb. 20,1917.

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DANA G. HADLEY, E WEST NEWBUEY, MASSACHUSETTS.

INVALIDS CHAIR.

Application led March 5,

lTo all whom t may ooncem:

Y Chairs; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. V

This invention relates to chairs and more particularly toa chair` for invalids or'for persons incapable of walking.

The primary object of this invention is the provision of a chair as' specified which is convertible into a wheeled' chair or rocker at the'will of the person sitting therein, and also a chair where the angle ofv theV back rest of the chair may be varied for the comfort of the person.

With the foregoing and other objects in view this invention consists in such novel features' of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and claimed..

In describing the invention in detailreference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein likecharacters of reference designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which z* Figure 1 is a detail side elevation of the lower portion of the chair, showing the same positioned for use as a wheel chair,

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig.- 4 is a detail plan view of the foot rest, and

Fig. 5 is a detail view of a part of the rocker, showing the same adjusted so that the chair may be used as a rocking chair.

Referring more particularly tothe drawings, 1 designates the supporting `legs of the chair bottom, which legs have rockers 2 'and 3 securely attached to their lower terminal ends. The rockers 2 and 3 are of the usual construction, having their lower 0r under surfaces which engage the floor or surface upon which the chair is placed, arcuate, so as to impart a rocking motion to the chair body (not shown) and they have a foot rest 4 pivotally connected to their forward ends Specicaton of Letters Patent.

' Patented Een-2o, i917."

k1915. Serial No. 12,351.

5. rIhe foot rest 4 extends transversely from 'the inner Side of the rocker 2 to the inner side of the rocker 3, and it has rodsk 6 loosely ogm, nected to its terminal ends, which rods prof. ject beyond the inner edge 7 of the foot rest and have their ends 8 curved forengagement with lugs-9, which are carried by the rockers 2 and 3.. rIhe foot rest 4 has lugs 10 formed on its opposite ends, which are loosely or rotatably mounted `in openings in the sides of the rockers, so as to permit of the pivotal movement of the rocker when the end 8 of the rod 6 is released from engagement with the pin 9.

The rockers 2 and 3 have pivotally con- "nected thereto a brace 11, which brace has legs 12 lformed thereupon, and extending at right angles to the brace 11. The legs 12 are yconnectedthrough the medium of eyelets 13 andhooks 14 to the rods 15, which rods extend rearwardly along the frame of the rocking chair and are slidably seated in the guideways'16, which guideways are supported in spaced relation to the legs 1 of the chair by the rods 17. The rods 15 are provided with notches 18 formed in i their lower sides, which notches are pro-k vided for engagement with the guideways 16 for holding the rods 15 and the brace 11 in various adjusted positions. In the drawings, the 4brace 11' is shown adjusted so that the legs 12`formed thereon, extend upwardly from the lower edge of the rockers and are out of engagement with the floor upon which'the rocker is placed. By moving the brace 11 so that the 'legs 12 thereof will engage the floor, the angle of the back rest of the chair may be varied, to suit the person sitting in the chair, and also a rigid chair may be provided, in that the engagement between the legs 12 and the floor will prevent the rocking of the chair.

The rockers 2 and 3 have pivotally connected at 20, to their inner sides, wheel supporting arms 21, which arms extend rearwardlyparallel with the rockers and have their free ends slidably seated in the guideways 22, which guideways are secured to the inner sides of the rockers and the supporting legs ofthe chair, in anysuitable manner, such as by gluing or by rivets, screws or the like. The pivoted wheel supporting arms 21 have a shaft 23 rotatably journaled therein, substantially equidistant froml their terminal ends, which shaft has the rollers 24 mounted thereupon, and adjacent Y catch levers 25 pivotally mounted thereon,

as at 26, which catch levers have shoulders 27 formed upon their lower'free ends, and

handle portions 2S formed upon their upper ends and disposed at right angles to the levers proper for the manipulation of the levers. When the chair is used as a rocker, the catch levers 25 are moved to a position, as isshown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, or soy that the shoulders 27 thereon will be outy of engagement with the upper edge of the terminal ends of the pivoted wheel supporting arms 21 which ends project through the guideways 22, allowing the arms to move freely within the guideways, and relieve the wheels 24 of the weight of the chair. When the catch levers 25 are moved inwardly, se that the shoulders 27 will engage the upper edge of the projecting ends of the arms 21, the arms 21 will be held against movement within the guideways and the periphery of the wheel 24 will be forced downwardly beyond the lower edge of the rockers 2 and 3, causing the wheels 24 to bear the weight of the chair and the person sitting therein, for converting the chair from a rocker into a wheel chair, as is illustrated in Fig.` 1 of the drawings. Y

The Ouideways 16 have supporting braces j 30 formed thereupon and projecting rearwardly from the guideways, which supporting brackets have 'rigidly connected thereto arcuate bracing arms 31 and 32. The arcuate bracing Varms 31 andV 32 extend rearwardly of the rear supporting legs 1of Vthe chair, and inwardly toward' each other, having their inner ends rigidly connected at 33 to the bracket 34. The bracket 34 has a bearing 35 formed upon its lower rearwardly projecting end, whichbearing has slidably and rotatably seated therein the shank 36 ofthe bifurcated wheel supporting arm 37. The bifurcated Vwheel supporting arm 37 has a roller or traction wheel 38 rotatably connected between its arms 39 and 40, which wheel is provided for engagement with the floor upon which the chair is placed. The

Y upper end of the shank 36 has a knob or head 41 formed thereupon, which headV engages the upper end of the bearing 35 and limits Vthe vertical sliding movement of the shank36, within the bearing.V By rotatably and slidably mounting the shank 36 within Y the bearing 35, the wheel 38 is swivelly supported by the bracket 34, so as tolpermit' Yof the turning er guiding of the chair while rolling the same about over the floor,l

rI`he'bearing`35 has pivotally connected,VK

theretoV a shank lock 42, which shank lock has a recessl43 .formed in its upper end for the reception of the end of the keeper 44.

Ilhe keeper 44 `is pivotally connected at 45 to one corner ofthe bracket 34, and has its end`46, which is positioned for insertion into the recess 43, slightly reduced.

When the improved chair as above described, is used as a rocker, the shank lock 42 is moved so that the shoulder 47 formed thereon will be out of engagement with the head 41 of the shank 36, and the shank will be slidably seated within the bearing 35, to permit of the vertical movement of the wheel support .37 and the wheel 38 upon the rocking motion of the chair.

When it is desired'to convert the chair Vfrom a rockerk into a wheel chair, the catch levers 25 are operated so that the shoulders 27 thereon will engage the upper edges of the wheel supporting arms 21, securely holdving these arms against vertical movement 'When the shank lock 41 is positioned so that the shoulder 47 willengage the head 42, the shank is held against vertical movement within the bearing 35, but is permitted to rotate therein, and the wheel 38 is held in its lowermost position so that it will engage the floor and provide a swiveled wheel for the guiding of the chair.

From theforegoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation of the improved invalid chair will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains and, while in the foregoing description, the principle of the operation of this invention has been described together with various features of construction, it is` to be understood that certain minor features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be altered to suit practical conditions provided such alterations are comprehended within the scope of what is claimed.

What'isclaimed is Y L In a chair structure, a chair body including supporting legs, rockers carried by said' y 1,216,987 l k3' said bearings, a shank look pivotally con- In testimony ivhereof I a'lix my signature nected to said bearings and adapted to enin presence of two Witnesses. gage the upper end of said shank for hold- DANA G HADLEY lng it against upward movement, and a keeper pivotally carried by said bracket for Witnesses:

engagement with said shank lock for holding M. BLANCHE CooNnY, said shank lock in a looking position. THoMAs WELCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

